If you grew up watching country variety television, you already know that laugh. Gunilla Hutton spent over two decades making audiences smile, first as the second Billie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction and then as Nurse Goodbody, the busty blonde punchline machine on Hee Haw. She wasn’t just another pretty face in a cast full of them. She was a trained singer, a working actress since the mid 1960s, and, according to her own family, a private woman who built a full life once the cameras stopped rolling.
Here’s everything worth knowing about Gunilla Hutton: where she came from, how she landed two of the most recognizable roles in classic television, the relationship that made headlines long before tabloids went digital, and what she’s been up to lately.
Who Is Gunilla Hutton?
Gunilla Hutton was born Gunilla Wiklund on May 15, 1944, in Gothenburg, Sweden, according to Wikipedia and multiple biographical sources. She came to the United States at age 7 speaking no English at all, which makes her later career doing comedy in a second language even more impressive when you think about it.
Her family settled in Fort Worth, Texas, where she attended Arlington Heights High School. She later moved on to attend UCLA, though acting pulled her away from a traditional college path fairly quickly. Before she ever landed a scripted role, she was performing on stage alongside genuine legends, including Nat King Cole and Jack Benny, work that eventually got her noticed by casting director Paul Henning.
From Sweden to Hollywood: Her Early Career
Hutton’s screen work started in 1965 with a guest spot on Perry Mason, followed quickly by Burke’s Law. These small parts were the kind of thing every young actress in Los Angeles was chasing at the time, but they were enough to prove she had the presence for television.
That same year, she picked up small credits on shows built around courtroom drama and crime, a genre completely different from the corn pone comedy that would eventually define her career. It’s a reminder that a lot of performers who became famous for one type of role started out somewhere else entirely.
Playing Billie Jo on Petticoat Junction
In 1965, Hutton stepped into one of the most talked about recasts in sitcom history. She replaced Jeannine Riley as Billie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction, joining Linda Kaye Henning and Lori Saunders as the three Bradley sisters running the Shady Rest Hotel in fictional Hooterville.
Hutton appeared in 23 of the show’s 34 episodes during her lone season on the series, spanning 1965 to 1966. She left after that single season, and Meredith MacRae took over the role next. Petticoat Junction was one of the top rated shows of the decade, so even one season in that role put Hutton’s face in front of millions of households every week.
Fun detail for trivia fans: producer Paul Henning was also behind The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and eventually Hee Haw, which means Hutton’s Hooterville credit and her later Kornfield Kounty fame both trace back to the same creative team.
Nurse Goodbody and the Hee Haw Years
Hutton’s most memorable role came next. In 1969, she joined Hee Haw as one of the show’s Honeys, and quickly became known for playing Nurse Goodbody opposite Archie Campbell’s recurring “leering doctor” sketch, a bit that ran for years and became one of the show’s signature routines.
According to Hee Haw’s own official archive, Hutton stepped into the cast slot left by Jeannine Riley, the same actress she had replaced years earlier on Petticoat Junction, an odd little coincidence that country music fans still bring up.
She stayed with the show until 1990, appearing across roughly two decades of episodes. That’s a longer run than most actors ever get on a single series, and it’s the reason her name and Hee Haw are still linked in nearly every search result about her today.
| Role | Show | Years | Episodes |
| Billie Jo Bradley | Petticoat Junction | 1965 to 1966 | 23 of 34 |
| Nurse Goodbody | Hee Haw | 1969 to 1990 | Regular cast member |
| Nora Hayman | The Love Boat | 1979 | Guest role |
| Herself | Fantasy Island | 1977 | Guest role |
| Raquel | Murder Can Hurt You | 1980 | Featured role |
Beyond acting, Hutton had a real singing career too. She recorded for ABC and Dot Records in the early 1970s, releasing singles including “You Can Say the Prettiest Things Sometimes,” “Chowchilla Dust,” and “You’re Gonna Get Loved.” None of them became major hits, but they show she was a genuine performer, not just a comedic face reading punchlines off a cue card.
She also picked up game show credits during this stretch, appearing on Match Game, Password, and Family Feud, which was a common side gig for television personalities of that era looking to stay visible between acting jobs.
The Nat King Cole Relationship
This part of Hutton’s story gets brought up almost as often as her television work. Multiple sources, including a Hee Haw fan wiki and outlets covering classic television history, report that Hutton had an extramarital relationship with jazz legend Nat King Cole in the mid 1960s while he was still married to Maria Cole.
The story that’s been repeated for decades says Hutton eventually called Maria Cole directly and told her to divorce him, which led Maria to confront her husband. Cole reportedly ended the relationship with Hutton not long after, following his diagnosis with the lung cancer that would take his life in February 1965.
It’s worth being honest that these details come from secondhand accounts and fan run archives rather than a firsthand statement from Hutton herself, so treat the specifics with a bit of caution even though the broad outline appears consistently across sources going back years, including reporting tied to Natalie Cole’s own memoir about her father.
Marriage, Family, and Life After Hee Haw
Hutton’s personal life settled down considerably after her time with Cole. She married Allan Freeman, a former Air Force pilot, on January 10, 1970. The couple stayed married for over four decades, until Freeman’s death in Palm Desert, California, in 2014.
Together they raised three children: daughter Amber Vanderbilt, who is married to screenwriter James Vanderbilt, and two sons, Erik and Christian Freeman. Amber has spoken publicly about growing up with two busy working parents, noting that she and her brothers were expected to take on jobs early and build their own independence rather than lean on their parents’ entertainment income.
Since Freeman’s passing, Hutton has lived in the Palm Desert area and kept a low public profile centered on family rather than show business.
Where Is Gunilla Hutton Now?
Hutton officially stepped away from regular acting work after Hee Haw wrapped in the early 1990s. She’s made occasional nostalgia appearances since then, including a 2011 reunion special called Country’s Family Reunion: Salute to the Cornfield, which brought together original cast members from the show.
In 2015, she appeared alongside former Petticoat Junction costars Linda Kaye Henning and Lori Saunders in a MeTV commercial promoting the series, proof that the show’s fan base was still strong decades after it went off the air. Hutton also received a TV Land Entertainer Award in 2007 recognizing her Hee Haw work, one of the more tangible honors of her career.
She’s largely stayed off social media, which is unusual for anyone with a fan base this dedicated, but it fits the picture painted by people close to her: someone who valued her privacy once the cameras stopped rolling. As of the most recent reporting available, Hutton is in her early 80s and living quietly, out of the spotlight she spent so many years in.
Gunilla Hutton Fast Facts
- Born Gunilla Wiklund on May 15, 1944, in Gothenburg, Sweden
- Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, after moving to the US at age 7
- Played the second Billie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction, 1965 to 1966
- Best known as Nurse Goodbody on Hee Haw, 1969 to 1990
- Recorded singles for ABC and Dot Records in the early 1970s
- Married Allan Freeman in 1970, together until his death in 2014
- Mother to Amber Vanderbilt, Erik Freeman, and Christian Freeman
- Received a TV Land Entertainer Award in 2007
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gunilla Hutton still alive? Yes. Based on the most recent public information available, Hutton is alive and in her early 80s, living a private life away from Hollywood.
Why did Gunilla Hutton leave Petticoat Junction? Reports from the era point to scheduling conflicts with other work as the reason she departed after a single season. Meredith MacRae took over the role of Billie Jo after her.
What is Gunilla Hutton’s most famous role? Nurse Goodbody on Hee Haw is generally considered her signature role, thanks to a run that lasted over 20 years and a recurring sketch that became one of the show’s staples.
Was Gunilla Hutton married? She married Allan Freeman, a former Air Force pilot, in 1970. They stayed married until his death in 2014 and had three children together.
Did Gunilla Hutton really date Nat King Cole? Multiple sources say yes, describing an extramarital relationship in the mid 1960s that reportedly ended after Cole’s cancer diagnosis. The full details rely on secondhand reporting rather than a direct account from Hutton herself.
Gunilla Hutton’s career is a good reminder that the actors who make comedy look effortless are usually working harder than they get credit for. Two decades of Hee Haw, a memorable stretch on Petticoat Junction, a real recording career, and a life kept mostly private once the spotlight moved on. That’s a fuller story than most classic television names ever get to tell.
Read More About: GTS Meaning
